


Once Upon a Time...

by No1DigiBakuFan



Series: Voltron Fairy Tale AUs With Too Many Pairings [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Fluff, Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Intimidation, M/M, Misgendering, Mutual Pining, Snow White With the Red Hair-freeform, Trans Keith (Voltron), Trans Lance (Voltron), binders
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-13
Updated: 2017-02-13
Packaged: 2018-09-24 03:00:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9696782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/No1DigiBakuFan/pseuds/No1DigiBakuFan
Summary: Lance might not have been out for long, but he'd known he was a boy for a long time. Unfortunately not everyone got the memo. It's a good thing that he's really good at disappearing.Happily Valentines day, everyone!





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thefreshprinceofinaba](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=thefreshprinceofinaba).



> I really hope you like this man. I couldn't get in contact with you, but you said you liked trans stuff so that's what I did.

The sun shines bright through the window, lighting up Lance’s face. His smile is so much brighter though; everything about him is bright. His mind, his blue eyes, his brown hair. He’s bright and warm and strong and just so amazing. Lance always has been like this beautiful beam of light…

Keith’s eyes close to protect themselves. But he still has to know Lance is okay, so he embraces his face.

And kisses him.

* * *

Lance buzzed about the shop, laughing as the kids of one of his customers started to argue. The mother managed to hush them just fine and when Lance turned around, they're pouting at each other.

“Here you go.” Lance hands the mother an envelope with medicine packed within it, “This'll help your baby's headaches. Only give them one a day and only when they're in pain.”

The mother smiled, “Oh Laura, thank you so much.”

Lance’s smile was a little more strained, “You're welcome, have a nice day.”

As the woman left with her children, Lance was finally alone with his thoughts. But they took a turn for the worse.  He’s been out to the village for 6 months now. Lance had done everything he can to make himself look like a boy. The sign in front of his shop said ‘Lance’s Remedies’. But he was still getting dead named, still called she or her or girl.

Lance looked at his long hair and frowned. He liked having long hair. He remembered making his mother brush it every morning before he did his chores. He felt he looked very handsome with long hair, but-

Someone barged in, boots heavy on the ground. 

Lance turned around and gave the person a smile, “Hello and welcome to Lance’s Remedies, how may I help you?”

The person turned out to be a guard and he didn't look like he came here for medicine, “Are you Laura McClain?”

Lance stiffened, “No, you must be mistaken. My name is Lance.”

The guard wasn't amused,  “Don't play games with me, girl. Prince Sendak has sent for you to be his concubine. He finds your blue eyes and chocolate hair interesting and would like to meet you tomorrow.”

Lance’s blood ran cold; Sendak was a spoiled monster, always starting fights, picking on everyone who was weaker than himself and rumored to hurt his lovers. What could he want with Lance? He couldn’t possibly be interested in him for a concubine, it couldn’t be true; it couldn’t!

Lance laughed, “That's a good joke sir, well done. And I used to think you guard dogs didn't have a sense of humor.”

The guard advanced on Lance, hand on his sheathed blade, “This is no joke, country girl. You'll be expected to show up at the palace tomorrow. Might I suggest you look presentable.”

Once Lance had been backed to the wall did the guard finally leave. Lance sunk to his knees and stared at his trembling hands.

This couldn't be happening. It just could NOT be happening.

Lance hid his face and cried.

* * *

Keith grinned, “Hunk, Pidge, I’m going on ahead!”

He lunged for the wall, hearing Hunk call to him, “Careful bragger, you'll hurt yourself!”

Keith ignored him, grabbed the wall and made the jump. For a moment, he felt amazing. The sun was shining down on him, the wind blew his hair everywhere, he was young, reckless and free.

Then the most amazing blue eyes he’d ever seen caught his attention-

“OWCH!”

And he tripped. Fell. Hit the ground with his arm first. So much for that.

“I warned you Keith.” Hunk scolded as he ran to his side, “How are you feeling?! How many fingers am I holding up?! What's 1 + 2?!”

“Purple.” Keith responded.

Pidge smiled, “He’s okay Hunk, stop mothering him.”

Hunk whimpered, “But he’s only a baby!”

“Am not!” Keith snapped, “I’m 17-years-old!”

“See Pidge?” Hunk replied, “He’s only 17!”

Keith groaned, “What am I gonna do with you, Hunk?!”

Pidge laughed. The two boys ended up joining them.

“As for you,” Keith turned towards the figure who was trying to crawl away unnoticed, “why on Earth are you here?”

The person held their hood a little closer to their face, “I went on a long walk yesterday, just letting my feet take me wherever ya know, just to get away for a little bit and well, I guess now I'm here.”

Keith frowned and using the tip of his sheathed sword, he lifted the hood the person was trying to hide behind, revealing the sight underneath. Damn, was it a sight to behold.

A brown skinned, narrow face with short brown hair and the brightest blue eyes he’d ever seen was what greeted him. The person appeared masculine, but Keith also noticed a feminine build. He’d have to ask this person what their pronouns were.

The person sighed, “Well isn't this a right mess?”

* * *

Lance bandaged the boy’s arm and tied it off with a smile, “There you go, that should keep it in place.”

The boy grinned as he inspected his work, “Well you did an awesome job Mr. Herbalist. I’m impressed.”

Lance continued bandaging his own arm, a price to pay for trust, “Nice to meet you Impressed, I’m Lance.”

The boy laughed and responded with, “The name’s Keith.” He pointed to the table where his other two companions were playing a game of chess, “No one really lives in this house, but we visit from time to time. My companion in green is Pidge Gunderson; they’re a secret sweetheart with the outward attitude of a savage-”

“Keith,” Pidge moved a piece on the board, “shut up.”

Keith only grinned, “And my companion in yellow is Hunk Garrett; he’s a complete sweetheart with the outward look of a bear.”

“Nice to meet you, Lance.” Hunk waved, then moved his own piece.

Lance smiled, “It’s nice to meet all of you.”

They all seemed like really decent people; Keith even asked Lance which pronouns he used and that never happened before. Not once had someone thought he wasn’t a girl on site. That… that had felt incredible. Lance really, really hoped he could become friends with Pidge, too. He’d never met someone even remotely like him before, yet here was Pidge-someone who used gender neutral pronouns, someone who was technically was not using the pronouns assigned to them at birth, someone who wasn’t just a girl or boy.

Plus, the two males in the group were very hot and Pidge was certainly on their way to being hot. There was never anyone that attractive in his village, not one soul who was a decent person too anyway.

“So,” Keith said, “mind telling me why a talented herbalist is walking around the woods, far away from any village in the country?”

Lance stiffened and spoke without facing him, “I’d rather not tell, actually. Nor is it any of your business.” He stood up, “If you’ll excuse me, I need some air.”

* * *

Lance pouted, “Come on Keith, please, just get me out of here.”

Keith chuckled as he looked at the boy struggling to untangle his hair from the tree bark, “Only if you tell me why you ran away from your home.”

Lance sighed, lowering his hands, “You’re a terrible person.”

Keith threw up his hands in surrender and walked over, “Let’s get that hair free then.”

Keith drew his dagger and sliced the strand, leaving it stuck in the tree-bark. The two of them sat down in front of the tree, legs crossed.

Lance took in a breath and spoke, “In my village, I was generally viewed female since I only came out about half a year ago. I haven’t found any methods to make my body look more like my true gender or if I have, there’s no way I could pay for them or get the resources to do them myself, so I had to use other methods to make myself look like a face I wanted to see. Not everyone got the memo though. About two days ago, a man came to my shop and said he was the servant of someone who wanted me all to himself.”

Keith’s eyes widened and a large sum of disgust started pulsing in his gut, “You mean he ordered you to-”

“Yep. Become his concubine.” Lance huffed, “He’s a spoiled monster with a silver spoon in his mouth, but he learned to speak in the red light district and according to rumors, he does not think highly of his lovers and what they wish. He thought my hair and eyes were interesting and wanted to keep them. If I’d obeyed his order, it’s just be complete misery for me.”

Keith felt his heart bleed with sympathy as he watched this incredibly brave boy stand, “Lance.”

“So that’s why,” Lance glanced at him over his shoulder, “I left my hair behind and headed out before dawn.”

Keith blinked at him a few times then laughed; Lance’s ability to brush it off just like that and make a fool of the idiot coming for him? He loved it!

Keith stood up as well and grinned, “That’s a pretty slick move, Lance. Nice job!”

Lance shrugged, “Yeah, I thought it was cool too.”

Keith hummed, “So, where do you plan on heading now?”

Lance stopped and looked at his feet. Keith stopped and turned as well. He looked really worried.

“You okay, Lance?” Keith asked.

Lance blinked and smiled, “Oh yeah, I’m fine. I guess I just haven’t thought about it.”

Keith blushed as an idea came to mind; it’ll probably freak Lance out if he offers it but… well…

“Is something up?” Lance walked over to Keith, “You look a little red. Are you sick?”

Keith shook his head and smiled, “No I’m fine, it’s just, well… if you haven’t got a plan, I think I know a place where you can crash for a little while. I wouldn’t mind taking you there.”

Lance smiled big and bright, “You do? That would be awesome, thank you!”

Keith smiled back, then added as an afterthought, “Also, don’t worry about them thinking you’re a girl because of your anatomy. They actually might be able to help you find ways to create a more masculine body.”

Lance gasped, tears gathered in his eyes, “That… that’s really a possibility?”

Keith shrugged, “If they can help me get a body that fits me better, they can help you.”

Lance lunged for Keith, toppling them both to the ground, tears running down his face, “Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you so much Keith, that means a lot, just, oh thank you!”

Keith blushed full beat red, but returned the hug, “No problem, Lance.”

* * *

A few days later found Lance in the capital city of Arus; Altea. He was walking down the streets with Keith and Pidge. He held the package in his hands close to his chest.

“I can’t believe it worked so well.” Lance still had a few tears in his eyes from earlier, but he didn’t care, “I really looked like a guy. I never even heard of these things back in Galra, but now...”

Keith smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder, “It felt amazing, didn’t it? Seeing yourself in the mirror?”

Lance nodded and sniffled, “I’ve never felt so okay with my body before. It was like… seeing myself for the first time.”

Pidge grinned and grabbed his hand, “That’s the power of the binder, right there, man.”

Lance’s arm tightened around the bag, “I gotta say, it was way more powerful than any medicine I ever made.” He looked to Keith, “Thank you,” he turned to Pidge, “both of you.” Lance looked into the bag again; it was still so hard to believe, “This means so, so much to me.”

The two of them smiled and tightened their hold on him in reassurance.

* * *

Keith turned around and offered Lance a hand, “Come on up! You can do it, man!”

Lance, sweaty, red in the face, panting, reached for Keith’s hand and let himself be pulled up the rest of the way. The two sat there panting for a while and Keith found himself staring at Lance (again). 

That brown skin was definitely tainted red; but it was a fairly good look, all things considered. An Adam's Apple was beginning to show, too, thanks to the testosterone Lance started taking. Keith wanted to kiss it really badly. But Lance also had the perfect haircut for forehead kisses though. Everything about him looked so perfect to kiss and hold. Then again, Lance looked perfect nearly all the time. It wasn’t anything new.

“Hey Keith,” Lance called, turning his head to him, smiling, “thanks.”

Keith’s face would’ve blushed if he wasn’t already red, “You’re welcome, Lance.”

The two sat there panting for a while as the sunset lit Altea up in a special kind of light.

Keith looked down to see Lance had fallen asleep on his shoulder.

Keith smiled; he looked so happy right now.

He threw an arm around Lance, bringing him closer to his body for protection (only protection, he swore as he relished in the warmth of Lance’s body and the scent weeping off the boy). He rested his cheek on Lance’s forehead and closed his eyes.

* * *

Lance watched Keith and Shiro sparing with a smile. They looked like they were having a lot of fun. Keith didn’t look too bad either. He looked really, really good in fact.

Hunk sang, “You’re staring, you’re pining, just tell him, you like him.”

Lance smirked and raised an eyebrow at Hunk, “You like them. You like them. Just tell the birdy. You like them.”

Hunk blushed and turned his head away, “Oh shut up.”

Lance turned back to watching Keith and Shiro doing hand to hand, “Only when you finally tell Pidge you’re head over heals.”

“I’ll do that when you tell Keith you wanna be his boyfriend.” Hunk shot back.

Lance frowned, “Not cool, bro.”

Hunk grinned.

* * *

Keith ran up the stairs and burst open the door, “Where is he?!”

On the table, Lance was sat there, a binder and towel thrown over him, one of his arms wrapped in bandages and looking pretty shaken up. The doctor who was tending to him jumped when Keith charged into the room.

“Is he going to be okay sir?” Keith asked, walking over to the doctor.

He regained his composure and nodded, “The miss is going to be just fine, sir.”

Keith bit back a snarl when he noticed Lance wincing in the background, “Thank you for taking care of him, doctor.”

He smiled and gestured to the door, “You’re both free to leave whenever you’d like.”

Lance stands up, grabs his shirt and throws it over his frame the second the doctor started talking. Keith grabbed his hand as Lance jumped down and they walked out together. Keith kept glancing at Lance’s arm as they walked.

“You don’t have to be so mad about it, ya know. It’s not like I died or anything, I just got hit with an arrow.” Lance stared at his feet.

Keith yanked them both to a stop and grabbed Lance’s shoulders, making him face him, “You could have died! Do you have any idea how scary that thought is? A world without you?! Do you know how much that terrified me?!”

“I was scared, too, ya know!” Lance snapped, shaking Keith’s hands off him.

Keith took a few steps back.

Lance shook, head down, “I was scared I wasn’t gonna get to see you again. You or Pidge or Hunk. I was scared I wasn’t gonna see any of you. I… I felt so alone.” Tears hit the floor, “I haven’t felt that isolated since the incident with Sendak.”

Keith looked at Lance, his heart swelling, “I’m sorry, Lance. I’m sorry for yelling at you. I’m sorry for letting you get in a situation like that.”

Lance whipped at his eyes, shook his head and smiled, “It’s okay. I’m sorry I worried you.”

Keith shook his head and opened his arms, “Can we please just forgive each other and hug it out?”

Lance grinned, “I thought you’d never ask.”

Keith’s eyes widened.

The sun shone bright through the window, lighting up Lance’s face. His smile was so much brighter though; everything about him was bright. His mind, his blue eyes, his brown hair. He’s bright and warm and strong and just so amazing. Lance always has been like this beautiful beam of light…

Keith’s eyes closed to protect themselves. But he still has to know Lance is okay, so he embraced his face.

And kissed him.

* * *

Lance opens his eyes, shock coursing through his system. This can’t be real, there’s no way this is actually happening right now. Lance looks right in front of him, tries to get the feeling back in his face and realizes that what he things is happening, is in fact happening.

Keith is kissing  _ him _ .

Keith is _kissing_ _him_.

_ Keith _ is  _ kissing him _ .

Lance closes his eyes, places his hand in Keith’s hair and kisses back, tilting his head as he goes. Keith holds Lance in his arms, wrapping them around his neck tightly.

The two break for air, panting slightly.

“Keith, would you go out with me? As in, romantically?” Lance murmurs, his senses on fire.

Keith smiles and rests his forehead to Lance’s, “I thought you’d never ask.”


End file.
